The Titan's Curse: My Version
by Thanatos Grim
Summary: I know you've all probably read those books about Percy Jackson and his friends but he forgot one very important thing...Me! The Titan's Curse but with a twist! Rated T for language. No Perlia no Percabeth, Percy and my own Original Character! Was going to be the Lightning Thief, and it was for about 1 hour than i decided to change it
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, I know I probably shouldn't be starting this because I'm only 1 chapter into my other story but I kind of have writers block even though it's just the second chapter and I figured this would be a lot of fun to write and I'll be able to post new chapters more often! So, this story is going to be The Titan's Curse but with my own original character as the main character, and told from his point of view don't worry though Percy Annabeth, Grover and all them will be in it to I'm hoping to do the whole PJO series but I guess we'll find out won't we? Thanks! -Luke **

_** Prologue **_

_Let me just start off this series by saying this, I know you all have probably read Rick Riordan's book on what happened, sadly only part of his storys are true, and he forgot the best character! Me! This is the recount of Me and Percy's (or should I say Percy and I, I don't really know) adventures! The date is 8/15/2001 during the beginning of this story by the way….Now on to the story!_

** Chapter One: I Pulverize My Math Teacher**

My POV

I heard the alarm go of at its usual time and I woke up ready for an exciting day of school! Normally I wouldn't be could dead saying school is fun, but I didn't say that now did I? I said _exciting_ you'll understand my choice of words later in the story, anyways back to the story. I looked in the mirror and saw my shaggy blonde hair was a mess; also my gold eyes were still there. I know what you're thinking gold eyes? But yeah they weren't metallic gold color but more just bright and shiny like the sun. I thought it might be a temporary thing but I guess not

I pulled on some orange and white shorts and a white T-Shirt and my famous orange and white Nike™ hoodie and put on m Nike™ shoes, as you can probably tell, I like orange, and Nike so I walked out the door and jogged to the bus stop, and saw my best friend Percy Jackson waiting there, me and him are like brothers we've known each other since like 1st grade (they are in 7th grade btw so they are like 14 in this story) "Sup, Perce" he just nodded to me "Hey" a noticed a new guy with crutches and a stubby beard that didn't look like he belonged in the 7th grade, but hey I've seen weirder stuff "Hey, dude whats your name?" "Grover" he answered "Blake" than we hopped on the bus, I sat next to Percy and pulled out my Oakley™ white sunglasses with orange lenses "Why do you need sunglasses on the bus anyway?" Percy asked I just shrugged, and plugged in my head phones and stared listening to Green Day, I might have zoned out because Percy punched me in the shoulder "Dude, wake up we're here" "Sorry bro, kinda zoned out" he grunted and we walked into class.

I sat down for math class and pulled out my books and flipped to the page the teacher was talking about I couldn't read it very well though because I have ADHD and Dyslexia.

"Blake can you solve problem #3 please" I groaned will this guy ever remember that I have Dyslexia? "Remember Sir? I have Dyslexia" "Oh I'm sorry boy, If A 23 is A to the power of 23 and A= X+Y than what is A?" (this is probably not 7th grade math just some random stuff I came up with so don't expect it to be accurate) "Um…127?"

"Correct thank you my boy" I don't want to bore you with my whole school day so I'll just explain the important stuff. So, we went on a School field trip to the Museum and we we're having lunch with this annoying prick named Nansy Bobfit starts throwing her disgusting lunch at that Grover kid who was sitting next to me and Percy.

I felt bad for the guy and thought it wouldn't be too bad to yell at that annoying b**** "Hey, leave the kid alone" I said angrily "Yeah" said Percy, we both hated bulling and Nansy Bobfit so me and him despised that kid she just laughed and threw a peanut butter sand witch that hit me right it the hoodie, _Dang it!, none hurts my hoodie!_ Hey, I really liked that hoodie okay?

You're here to read not judge "Stop it you annoying prick!" I might have said that a little too loud because our History teacher came over and said to me "What did you say my boy?" "Sorry sir, she was just being a jerk to me and my friends" "Than you should have come get me not yell at her" "Sorry Sir" I mumbled even though I wasn't very sorry, and he could probably tell

Then he walked away "Yeah, _boy_ mind your own buissness" Nansy said and threw another sandwitch at Grover, Percy slammed his fist on the table "That's it!" he growled, but Grover stepped in front of him "No, really it's okay I like peanut butter!" "Yeah Prissy shut up!" Nansy said laughing I knew Percy hated that nickname, That's when Percy snapped he yelled "Aaaarrghh!" and that's when things got weird, I saw the water from the fountain seem to grab her and dunk her in the fountain, than the chaperone Mrs. Dodds came over and grabbed Percy "Come with me my boy" she hissed, that was weird she had this is demon voice for a second there, I mean I know people in school said she was evil but I don't think they meant that Literally!

"Hey! Percy didn't do anything wrong!" I protested, she just walked over and grabbed me also "You to my boy!" I struggled to get out of her grip but she had an iron hold on the collar of my shirt, we walked by Mr. Brunner and he handed Percy a pen and touched my Oakleys , thanks Mr.B great help, ya gave Percy a freaking pen and tried to steal my shades, glad we could count on you!

Without warning Mrs. Dodds threw me and Percy on the ground, jumped into the air and grew this crazy bat-like wings "Give up the Bolt!" she hissed what bolt was this crazy bat lady talking about? My thoughts were interrupted and Mrs. Dodds raked me across the chest with her talons and flew into the air, I staggered back and clutched my chest in pain, but I've been hurt worse, I don't know where it came from but a strange voice in my head who sounded about 21 and was male said _Use your sunglasses_ so I pressed the side of my shades and it turned into a bronze bow that glowed with golden energy and was surprisingly light and flexible._ The hell?_ I shrugged off my amazement and Percy was staring at me "This is all new to me to!" I said he just nodded "use your pen!" "dude a pen ain't gonna kill this motherf" he was cut off as Mrs. Dodds threw him across the room "Percy" I yelled "Kill that thing!" He yelled back and then he blacked out. I hope this works I muttered, I pulled back on the string and a flaming arrow appeared sweet I thought "GIVE BACK THE BOLT" Mrs. Dodds screeched "I don't know what they heck you're talking about lady I just know it's time for you to die!" with that heroic speech I let the arrow fly, it pierced her chest and she went up in flames. Bulls eye! Then she exploded into dust.

I Dragged Percy out and he woke up "Uhgg….man, was that a dream" I shook my head and we both slumped down against the wall "I wish bro" I answered wearily "You kill that thing?" I grunted "Yeah" "How?" "Shot it with my bow, turns out im a good shot" he grinned "Nice" "Well, we better tell Mr. Bruner about that _thing_, he nodded "Sorry about leavin' you to take that thing by yourself" I shrugged like it was no big deal but I was pretty impressed with myself "I was lucky it-was it a she or an it?- going after you otherwise I would've been toast" we got up and walked over to . That was one crazy day I thought to myself.

_And this is how it began…now on to the real story.._

**Alright guys that's it for chapter one It's pretty much just the beginning of Blake and Percy's adventures, I'm really feeling this story so expect another update soon! Please R&R Thanks! -Luke**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: A Surprise Arrival **

Blake's POV

It was my turn to protect the tree and the golden fleece, and I'm going to admit I was getting pretty sleepy, that's when I noticed something…strange…there was a girl about my age (16) lying next to the tree unconscious "What the?" I muttered under my breath, I concentrated hard using my empathy link with Percy to wake him up.

_Percy! Gather the camp. Something happened. huh?..yeah..sure..he replied sleepily _ I could feel him dozing off again_ WAKE UP!. Mommy! Was his startled response. Wake up fish face and gather the camp!. Alright! _Then I noticed the girl stirring in her sleep.

The girl stirred again and woke up. I knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth-a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands I'd never heard of.

"Who" she began to ask, I wasn't the type of guy that really knows how to comfort people but I did my best "Shh…help will be here soon" Then and then I noticed Dawn was just breaking, but the whole camp seemed to be stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. A few campers were already making their way toward the hill, satyrs and nymphs and heroes in a weird mix of armor and pajamas.

"It healed the tree," Chiron said, his voice ragged. "And poison was not the only thing it purged." "It's true," Grover said, panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe ..."

Nobody else came close to the girl.

I put my hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but my fingertips tingled as if they were burning.

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," I said. She was clearly a half-blood, whether she was a camper or not. I could sense that just from one touch. I didn't understand why everyone was acting so scared.

I took her by the shoulders and lifted her into sitting position, resting her head on my shoulder. "Come on somebody get off their lazy ass and help!" I yelled No one moved, not even Chiron. They were all too stunned. "Blake…" Percy said.

Then the girl took a shaky breath. She coughed and opened her eyes. Her irises were startlingly blue-electric blue.

The girl stared at me in bewilderment, shivering and wild-eyed. "Who-" she asked again. "I'm Blake," I said "You're safe now" I whispered to her "Strangest dream ..." "It's okay." "Dying." "No," I assured her. "You're okay. What's your name?" The girl's blue eyes stared into mine, and I understood what the Golden Fleece quest had been about. The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play-another chance to control **the** prophecy.

Even Chiron, Annabeth, and Grover, who should've been celebrating this moment, were too shocked, thinking about what it might mean for the future. And I was holding someone who was destined to be my best friend, or possibly my worst enemy.

"I am Thalia," the girl said. "Daughter of Zeus."

**Alright that's it for chapter two, sorry its so short next chapter will be at the start of the Titan's Curse book -Luke**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: We Fail a Rescue Mission**

The Friday before winter break Percy's Mom took Me Annabeth Percy and Thalia to a new boarding school because apparently there were two new half-bloods there it was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I hadn't seen each other in months, we and Percy and usually hanging out though,

but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for Percy's Mom. She talks more when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and if I had to hear another baby story about Percy I was going to puke.

Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun." "Yeah.." i agreed sarcastically

Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Percy's Mom asked

"No, thanks, Mom," He said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."

"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy." "Don't worry Sally I'll make sure little Percy doesn't get hurt" I said me and Thalia were trying to hold back laughs while Annabeth was just glaring at me. "Alright, Blake make sure my little Percy doesn't get hurt" I Nodded and winked at Annabeth and Thalia, Percy just groaned. After that Sally drove off and me and thalia started cracking up "What?!" Percy hissed "Your face was priceless" I said once I had stopped laughing

"You know you don't need to tease Percy all the time" I just rolled my eyes "Whatever Mom" I said jokingly. With that we open the doors.

The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

All I could say was, "Whoa."

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.  
I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.  
Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where - "  
he doors slammed shut behind us.  
"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."

We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um..." I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night. We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would get inside. I said, "Ma'am, we're just - "

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"

He had an accent - French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors - one brown, one blue - like an alley cat's.

I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird.

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth, Percy and Blake. We're in the eighth grade." Great job Thalia now he's going to think we're liars too.

The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"  
I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You - " Good job Grover now you might have gotten us busted

He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh - "

"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."

Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made... the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!" Wow. Just wow. That was probably the lamest excuse I've ever heard.

Dr. Thorn glared at us. I decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"

We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.

Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music. I loved music, oh yeah that reminds me I forget to tell you but I'm a Son of Apollo (no pun intended) but once in a while he gives his children the ability to summon a blast of light that kills monsters, but only in the day. Also my sunglasses turn into a bow that when pulled back an arrow appears on the string ready to be fired, my hoodie is flexible and everything normal but is made of celestial bronze, and that's about it.

I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"

She smirked "You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Chiron was our head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown me anything like that. "ugh, how come you get all the cool stuff?" she just smirked again and I glared at her.

Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much.

"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"

Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. Me and Percy gave him a big high five. "So what's the emergency?" I asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?" oh yeah, I kind of gave that away..i'm writing after the events happen so, as they say SPOILER ALERT

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Any Monsters?" I asked he nodded and I cracked my knuckles "Than let's pulverize them" I said "Settle down Air Head" Thalia joked "Air Head?, that's the best you could come up with Sparky?" "S-" Annabeth stepped in before things could get ugly "you can argue about stupid crap later, now we need to find these half-bloods" I grunted "Alright, where are they?"

"These half-bloods are at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn." That's no shocked I mean what kind of wackjob has two different colored eyes (I don't know if that can be a condition or anything but I don't know so this is what I'm assuming)

Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something. Which makes since.

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. You do not want to get stuck in those…trust me I speak from experience. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like me - uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true...

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angela"

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. Pokemon or something? His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do they... I mean, have you told them?" Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

He looked at me, and I nodded. I've always wondered what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs maybe I should ask Grover what I smell like…but that would be awkward.., I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch.

"So let's grab them and get out of here," I said. That's just how I am, straight to the point, deal with it

I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. He was probably following us.

Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."

"How?"

"We're four powerful half-bloods. Well except for you-"Hey!" Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?" "For once I agree with Sparky"  
Grover looked hurt. "I did."

Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?" I nodded and grinned, man I love Green Day

"Green who?"

"Never mind. Let's dance." I turned to Thalia awkwardly "So I guess we should dance?" She nodded "By the way I suck at dancing" "Why am I not surprised?" she said. We danced in silence for a bit, then I looked over to Percy and Annabeth. "What are they doing? We gotta go tell them they need to dance" "Yeah" she agreed and we started dancing over to them.

They both looked at us confused "Dance you look stupid just standing there!" Thalia hissed, man she could be real mean when she got mad, trust me.

I looked over to where the other half-blood were and I couldn't find Grover Percy Annabeth or the brother and sister "The unclaimed are gone" I noticed "Crap, where are the others?" she asked I just shrugged "Can't find'em, we gotta go look for the brother and sister though" she nodded in agreement. And we went off to find the rest of our group

**Chapter 3 is done! I'm planning on doing as many as I can tonight, even if I don't get a lot of reviews these are fun to write! Okay I should have chapter 4 done by tonight also! **

**-Luke**


	4. Chapter 4

** Chapter Three: We Lose Some Friends**

Me and Thalia ran to the others and we all gathered by the bleachers "Alright Percy's missing and so are the half-bloods so we need to go look for them lets go!" Thalia said

After some searching a fount a blood trail "Over here! I found something!" we followed the blood trail until we saw something utterly terrifying. "Percy's sending me an empathy link message" Grover said "He's in trouble!" "Alright lets go" I motion for them to follow. We snuck out the back door and hit in the forest I was behind a tree and held up my fingers as a warning.

_3…_then I overheard a conversation going on a motioned for them to wait. "Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I..." Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."

"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."

"Luke," Percy said. "You work for Luke. Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."

_2….1…._

I rolled out from behind a tree and shot Thorn in the back, He wailed in pain "WHO SHOT THAT?" I responded by putting in arrow in his chest. This gave Thalia Grover and Annabeth a chance to advance from behind - Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.

If you've never seen Thalia run into battle, you have never been truly frightened. She uses a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket, but that's not the scary part. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses - also called Aegis - a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.

Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.

Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"

I thought Dr. Thorn was a goner. Thalia jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.I shot a flaming arrow at his back but a tail like thing deflected it and it hit me in the right calf. I winced as it punctured and burned my flesh but kept shooting. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder behind me, but I didn't dare look.

Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, and this time I could see how he did it. He had a tail - a leathery, scorpionlike tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down. I took this chance to drop my bow a grab my two celestial bronze knives and charged

Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play - a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him. I jumped on his back and stabbed him

Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form - his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions. And I fell off him tumbling into the woods

"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd attacked

"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"

"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"

I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl.

"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. Luckily I had gotten thrown out of the way but Percy looked like a goner, that is until he activated his shield and was able to protect himself, but I could tell the shield wasn't going to last much longer.

So I staggered up and blasted the manticore with light and he stagger back hissing at me "A child of the light! Gah!" I had no Idea what he was talking about but I didn't waste time trying to figure it out as he launched a spike at me that would have hit me in the chest if not for my hoodie. But I was still knocked back

heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud.

"Yield!" the monster roared.

"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and for a second, I thought she would run him through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind us. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.

"No!" I ran out to help her. I parried away a spike with my knives just before it would've hit her chest. I stood in front of her hoping my hoodie could protect us both  
Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."

We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no chance.

Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.

The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades. No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be - "

His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.

He staggered backward, wailing in agony.

"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, but my eyes must've been playing tricks on me. No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, Well..Except maybe me could shoot with that much accuracy.

The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. I tried to swipe at him with my daggers, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged my attack and slammed his tail into my chest, knocking me aside.

Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.

"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.

Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."

I didn't have a chance to ask what she meant. But I know I probably hated them as much as her.

One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"

I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.

The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws." Winey b-"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was so beautiful it made me catch my breath, but her expression was stern and dangerous. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."

The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"

He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed.

"No.'" Annabeth yelled and her and Percy, charged at the monster.

"Get back, half-bloods!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"

But Annabeth and Percy both leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth and Percy hung on for dear life.

"Fire!" Zoe ordered.

"No!" I screamed.

But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!" Damn it stupid hunters!

"Annabeth! Percy!" I yelled.

I started to run after them, but our enemies weren't done with us. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter - the sound of gunfire.

Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.

"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."

She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust - no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds - ravens, which scattered into the night.

The Hunters advanced on us.

The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.

"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."

Zoe scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."

"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."

I yelled. "You have to let us save them!"

The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. "I'm sorry, Blake Suran , but your friends are beyond help." I winced at the use of my surname witch I did not use because of some…issues..with my family.

I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down.

"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said.

"Let me go!" I demanded. "Who do you think you are?" Zoe stepped forward as if to smack me.

"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."

The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt." Well, crap I probably shouldn't have yelled at her then….

**Alright chapter 4 is done! -Luke**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay so I skipped a few chapters on purpose and we should now be on chapter 6 on TTC, I just felt the chapters leading up to this one were kind of boring and everyone has probably read TTC anyways. Thanks for your understanding! -Luke**

**Chapter 8: The Quest**

The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself. Lazy hippie mummy

Instead, Grover and I were elected to carry her. I didn't figure that was because we were the most popular.

"Watch her head!" Grover warned as we went up the stairs. But it was too late.

Bonk! I whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew.

"Ah, man." I set her down and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?"

"I can't tell," Grover admitted.

We hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, both of us huffing and sweating. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much?

I assumed she wouldn't talk to me, and I was right. I was relieved when we finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut.

"Well," Grover said, "that was gross."

I knew he was trying to keep things light for my sake, but I still felt really down. The whole camp would be mad at me for losing the game to the Hunters, and then there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. It was like the spirit of Delphi had gone out of her way to exclude me. She'd ignored my question and walked half a mile to talk to Zoe. And she'd said nothing, not even a hint, about Annabeth and Percy, which sucked.

"What will Chiron do?" I asked Grover.

"I don't know." He looked wistfully out the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there."

"Searching for Annabeth and Percy?"

He had a little trouble focusing on me. Then he blushed. "Oh, right. That too!" "Why?" I asked. "What were you thinking?"

He clopped his hooves uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder... if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe... maybe not all of them are evil."

"You mean Pan."

I felt kind of selfish, because I'd totally forgotten about Grover's life ambition. The nature god had gone missing two thousand years ago. He was rumored to have died, but the satyrs didn't believe that. They were determined to find him. They'd been searching in vain for centuries, and Grover was convinced he'd be the one to succeed. This year, with Chiron putting all the satyrs on emergency duty to find half-bloods, Grover hadn't been able to continue his search. It must've been driving him nuts.

"I've let the trail go cold," he said. "I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He's out there somewhere. I can just feel it."

I didn't know what to say. I wanted to encourage him, but I didn't know how. My optimism had pretty much been trampled into the snow out there in the woods, along with our capture-the-flag hopes.

Then Thalia came up the stairs and I knew she was probably still mad about the capture-the-flag game. "Tell Blake to get his lazy butt downstairs" "Why?" I asked.

"Did he say something?" Thalia asked Grover.

"Um, he asked why."

"Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy," she said. "Unfortunately, that includes Percy." Well, someone wasn't a happy camper (no pun intended)

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoe's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia and Grover sat along the right, I was head councilor of the Apollo Cabin and the other head councilors - Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers - sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.

Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping. Did he ever eat real food?

"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said. I was amazed at how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded me of someone famous, but I couldn't think who. She looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight. "You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoe said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

"Your" Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times."

Zoe hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. " Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help." Well….at least she tried.. Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?" Mr.D is just an idiot…there I said it

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoe grimaced, but I could tell Thalia had scored a point.

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and two," I said.

Everybody looked at me. Thalia even forgot to ignore me.

"We're supposed to have five," I said, feeling self-conscious. "Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."

Thalia and Zoe exchanged looks.

"Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."

Zoe grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster - the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, I guess because he was the only god present and gods are supposed to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up, "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? -He doesn't look that young I though, but I kept that to myself I didn't want to turn into a dolphin or something- I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," I said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Poseidon , would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. (I liked how he said you and not for supporting the team.) "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die."

"One shall be lost in the land without rain" Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was a muttering of agreement.

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand," Silena said. "What could that mean?"

I saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it. I hate when people do that

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table.

I glanced at Thalia and wondered if she was thinking the same thing I was. Years ago, Chiron had had a prophecy about the next child of the Big Three - Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades - who turned sixteen. Supposedly, that kid would make a decision that would save or destroy the gods forever. Because of that, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War II not to have any more kids. But Thalia and Percy had been born anyway, and now they were both getting close to sixteen.

I remembered a conversation I'd had last year with Annabeth. I'd asked her, if Percy was so potentially dangerous, why the gods didn't just kill him.

Some of the gods would like to kill him, she'd said. But they're afraid of offending Poseidon.

Could an Olympian parent turn against his half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? If there were ever any half-bloods who needed to worry about that, it was Thalia and me  
"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me." Pshh…sure it was he was probably just happy to hear some of us would die

"Percy is right," Silena Beauregard said. "Two campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back.

"Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoe stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.

Zoe nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added..

"Yes," Zoe snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

I knew the Stolls were up to something. They always were. But I guess Zoe didn't know them as well as I did. She just sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."

Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But... I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You will do fine," Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself."

Bianca closed her mouth. I felt kind of sorry for her. I remembered my first quest when I was twelve. I had felt totally unprepared. A little honored, maybe, but a lot resentful and plenty scared. I figured the same things were running around in Bianca's head right now.

"And for campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, but I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap. "Anything to help Artemis!"

Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."

"But he is a camper," Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely!"

Zoe wavered. I didn't know what a tracker's song was, but apparently Zoe thought it was a good thing.

"Very well," Zoe said. "And the second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

Now, okay, maybe my math skills weren't the best, but it suddenly occurred to me that we'd reached the number five, and I wasn't in the group. "Whoa, wait a sec," I said. "I want to go too."

Thalia said nothing. Chiron was still studying me, his eyes sad.

"Oh," Grover said, suddenly aware of the problem. "Whoa, yeah, I forgot! Blake has to go. I didn't mean... I'll stay. Blake should go in my place."

"He cannot," Zoe said. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."

"You traveled here with me," I reminded her.

"That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by the goddess. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy." "What about Grover?" I demanded.

Zoe shook her head. "He does not count. He's a satyr. He is not technically a boy." Well, that's rude

"Hey!" Grover protested.

"I have to go," I said. "I need to be on this quest."

"Why?" Zoe asked. "Because of thy friend Annabeth and Percy?"

I hated that everyone was looking at me. "No! I mean, partly and Percy is a child of the big three he could be very important. And I just feel like I'm supposed to go!"

Nobody rose to my defense. Mr. D looked bored, still reading his magazine. Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Bianca gave me a look of pity.

"No," Zoe said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male hero."

Chiron sighed. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions."

My ears were ringing as I sat down. I knew Grover and some of the others were looking at me sympathetically, but I couldn't meet their eyes. I just sat there as Chiron concluded the council.

"So be it," he said. "Thalia and Grover will accompany Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods" - he glanced at Dionysus - "present company included, we hope - be with you."

I didn't show up for dinner that night, which was a mistake, because Chiron and Grover came looking for me.

"Blake, I'm so sorry!" Grover said, sitting next to me on the bunk. "I didn't know they'd - that you'd - Honest!"

He started to sniffle, and I figured if I didn't cheer him up he'd either start bawling or chewing up my mattress. He tends to eat household objects whenever he gets upset.

"It's okay," I lied. "Really. It's fine."

Grover's lower lip trembled. "I wasn't even thinking... I was so focused on helping Artemis. But I promise, I'll look everywhere for Annabeth and Percy. If I can find them, I will."

I nodded and tried to ignore the big crater that was opening in my chest.

"Grover," Chiron said, "perhaps you'd let me have a word with Blake?"

"Sure," he sniffled.

Chiron waited,

"Oh," Grover said. "You mean alone. Sure, Chiron." He looked at me miserably. "See? Nobody needs a goat."

He trotted out the door, blowing his nose on his sleeve.

Chiron sighed and knelt on his horse legs. "Blake, I don't pretend to understand prophecies."

"Yeah," I said. "Well, maybe that's because they don't make any sense."

Chiron gazed at the saltwater spring gurgling in the corner of the room. "Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She's too impetuous. She acts without thinking. She is too sure of herself"

"Would you have chosen me?"

"Frankly, no," he said. "You and Thalia are much alike."

"Thanks a lot." That really made me feel better

He smiled. "The difference is that you are less sure of yourself than Thalia. That could be good or bad. But one thing I can say: both of you together would be a dangerous thing."

"We could handle it."

"The way you handled it at the creek tonight?"

I didn't answer. He'd nailed me.

"Perhaps it is for the best," Chiron mused. "You can go home for the holidays. If we need you, we can call."

okay..well my mom was a touchy subject she had just left me on the streets one day and made everybody believe I had ran away. "Remember I don't have a family" I growled

He winced "I am sorry my boy, I forgot" I pulled my sunglasses out of my pocket and set it on my nightstand. It didn't seem that I'd be using them. I feel asleep in the Apollo cabin early that night and had a peaceful sleep.

**Sorry, that was a pretty bad chapter, I just didn't feel like I had anything to add other than what the book said, I'll try and have my character have a better impact next chapter! -Luke**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, I'm sorry but I had to skip writing chapter 8 (in the book) and go to chapter 9 because ¾ of chapter 9 was about Percy and things only he can do so I'm on chapter 9 now**

** Prologue **

I jumped into my car/chariot and headed off…._okay maybe I should back up a bit, So this is the recap of what you missed! I promised Nico that I would do my best to protect his sister, because I'm going to follow Thalia, Zoe, and the rest of the quest members. Also for my 16__th__ birthday Apollo got me a car a lot like his sun chariot except it doesn't burn things and it can be any car I want, also it flys, now the reason Apollo gives me so much stuff is because I was blessed by him to be one of the best Apollo campers ever. So now that you know what's going on back to the story!_

**Chapter Six: Surprise?**

So, I was making my Great Escape and following the quest members when I got attacked and pulled over by grape vines.. "Going somewhere?" Mr. D asked.

He was leaning against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind. Crap it's the wine dude!  
Mr. D sighed in exasperation. "The next person, , who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"

"Mr. D." I tried to keep my voice calm as the grape vines continued to wrap around my legs. "What do you want?"

"Oh, what do I want? You thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of camp would not notice you leaving without permission?"

"Well... yeah."

"I should throw you off this building, minus the flying car, and see how heroic you sound on the way down."

I balled my fists. I knew I should keep my mouth shut, but Mr. D was about to kill me or haul me back to camp in shame, and I couldn't stand either idea. "Why are you such a jerk to everyone? What did I ever do to you?"

Purple flames flickered in his eyes. "You're a hero, boy. I need no other reason."

"I have to go on this quest! I've got to help my friends. That's something you wouldn't understand!"

I figured that. Seeing as how we're wrapped in vines nine hundred feet in the air, I might want to talk nice. But I was mad

The grape vines coiled tighter around me. Below us, the white van was getting farther and farther away. Soon it would be out of sight.

"Did I ever tell you about Ariadne?" Mr. D asked. "Beautiful young princess of Crete? She liked helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, a son of Poseidon. She gave him a ball of magical yarn that let him find his way out of the Labyrinth.

"And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?" I didn't really care, but I didn't want to become a bottle of wine so I answered with simply "No" Mr. D sneered. " Theseus said he would marry her. He took her aboard his ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos, he... What's the word you mortals use today?... he dumped her. I found her there, you know. Alone. Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out. She had given up everything, left everything she knew behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal."

"That's wrong," I said. "But that was thousands of years ago. What's that got to do with me?" I was really getting annoyed now

Mr. D regarded me coldly. "I fell in love with Ariadne, boy. I healed her broken heart. And when she died, I made her my immortal wife on Olympus. She waits for me even now. I shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your ridiculous camp."

I stared at him. "You're... you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph - " Mr. D didn't seem like he could be a kind and loving husband, but I kept that to myself

"My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot. Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, ask Zoe Nightshade."

"What do you mean, ask Zoe?" What was this nut talking about?

He waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Follow your silly friends."

The vines uncurled around my legs.

I blinked in disbelief. "You're... you're letting me go? Just like that?"

"The prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be one of them. But mark my words, Son of Apollo, live or die, you will prove no better than the other heroes."

With that, Dionysus snapped his fingers. His image folded up like a paper display. There was a pop and he was gone, leaving a faint scent of grapes that was quickly blown away by the wind. Mr.D was a jerk, but I wanted to prove him wrong, I wanted to show him I could be better than all those other heroes….

So, I hopped back in my car and noticed I was almost out of gas. Crap, do you know how hard it is to get a refill of gas in a flying car? It's pretty hard! They stopped for gas, so I waited until they were gone, got some more gas and a snack, than I got back on the road and started listening to _On the Road Again_ what? I seemed appropriate even though I was flying and I wasn't on the road.

They stopped and parked, so I parked far back and started following using Annabeth's Invisibility hat and walked over to the convenience store. It was difficult not to sneak. I had to keep reminding myself that nobody could see me. It was hard, too, because I had to remember to get out of people's way so they wouldn't slam into me. That would probably give me away

I thought I'd go inside and warm up, maybe get a cup of hot chocolate or something. I had a little change in my pocket. I could leave it on the counter. I was wondering if the cup would turn invisible when I picked it up, or if I'd have to deal with a floating hot chocolate problem, when my whole plan was ruined by Zoe, Thalia, Bianca, and Grover all coming out of the store.

"Grover, are you sure?" Thalia was saying.

"Well... pretty sure. Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent."

"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked, like she couldn't believe it.

Grover looked offended. "It's a time-honored tracking spell. I mean, I'm pretty sure I did it right."

"D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I..." She frowned. "We used to live there. That's... that's strange. I'd forgotten."

"I dislike this," Zoe said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."

"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.

Zoe stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!" Scullion?

"Oh, scullion You're calling me a scullion? What the heck is a scullion?"

"Whoa, you two," Grover said nervously. "Come on. Not again!" "Grover's right," Bianca said. "D.C. is our best bet."

Zoe didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."

"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."

"Perhaps," Zoe snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."

How old was Zoe? And what had Mr. D been talking about? What bad experience had she had with heroes?

Fortunately, the van started to slow down. It crossed the Potomac River into central Washington. I started thinking about air patrols and missiles and stuff like that. I didn't know exactly how all those defenses worked, and wasn't sure if flying cars even showed up on your typical military radar, but I didn't want to find out by getting shot out of the sky.

The van was only a few blocks away.

Zoe had parked at the curb.  
I looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. Thalia nodded, and the four of them trudged off into the cold wind.

I started to follow. But then I froze.

A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with gray hair and a military buzz cut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, you'd expected guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on me that I'd seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van.

The guy took out his mobile phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the Mall in the direction of my friends.

The worst of it was: when he turned toward me, I recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall.

Invisibility cap on, I followed Thorn from a distance. My heart was pounding. If he had survived that fall from the cliff, then Annabeth and Percy must have too. My dreams had been were alive and being held prisoner.

Thorn kept well back from my friends, careful not to be seen.

Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. The Smithsonian! I'd been here a million years ago with my mom before she left me, but everything had looked so much bigger then. Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and school was out of session. They slipped inside.

Dr. Thorn hesitated. I wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the Mall. I made a split-second decision and followed him.

Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. At first I thought it said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT. Then I realized PIRATE must be PRIVATE.

I followed Dr. Thorn inside, through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and I had to sprint to get inside before they closed them again.

Inside, what I saw was so terrible I almost gasped out loud, which probably would've gotten me killed.

I was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters - reptilian women with double-snake trunks instead of legs. I'd seen them before. Annabeth had called them Scythian dracaenae.

But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women - I could swear he was looking straight down at me - was me and Percy's old enemy Luke. He looked terrible. His skin was pale and his blond hair looked almost gray, as if he'd aged ten years in just a few months. The angry light in his eyes was still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where a dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as though it had recently been reopened.

Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All I could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of his chair, like a throne.

"Well?" asked the man in the chair. His voice was just like the one I'd heard in my dream - not as creepy as Kronos's, but deeper and stronger, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling. The General?

Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General." I guess I was right.

"I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where?"

"In the rocket museum."  
"The Air and Space Museum," Luke corrected irritably. Dr. Thorn glared at Luke. "As you say, sir"I got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Luke with one of his spikes as call him sir.

"How many?" Luke asked.

Thorn pretended not to hear.

"How many?" the General demanded.

"Four, General," Thorn said. "The satyr, Grover Underwood. And the girl with the spiky black hair and the - how do you say - punk clothes and the horrible shield."

"Thalia," Luke said.

"And two other girls - Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."

"That one I know," the General growled.

Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.

"Let me take them," Luke said to the General. "We have more than enough - "

"Patience," the General said. "They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied."

"But - "

"We cannot risk you, my boy."

"Yes, boy," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk. Let me finish them off."

"No." The General rose from his chair, and I got my first look at him.

He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. I felt as if I were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.

"You have already failed me, Thorn," he said.

"But, General - "

"No excuses!"

Thorn flinched. I'd thought Thorn was scary when I first saw him in his black uniform at the military academy. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked like a silly wannabe soldier. The General was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born commander.

"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said. "I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me a scrawny daughter of Athena."

"But you promised me revenge.'" Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"

"I am Lord Kronos's senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you."

Thorn's face turned purple with rage. I thought he was going to start frothing at the mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.

"Now, my boy." The General turned to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."

"The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoe Nightshade - "

"Do not speak her name!"

Luke swallowed. "S - sorry, General. I just - "

The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down."

He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"

The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"

"Plant them," he said. What is this guy doing planting teeth?

In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where I guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. I watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.

The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"

"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."

The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and I got the feeling it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.

The soil began to bubble.

"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."

Luke clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best - "

"Ha.'" the General said. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play - "

I thought Luke turned paler when the General said that. What was his role?

" - but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."

The soil erupted. I stepped back nervously.

In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said:

"Mew?"

It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt. Uh-oh a kitten we should probably just give up now.(note sarcasm)

Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, "What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"

The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger - "

"No, you idiot! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those... those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."

The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.

"You.'" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the right teeth. NOW!"

The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.

"Imbeciles,' muttered the General.

"This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable."

"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."

A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large pointy teeth.

"Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet.

Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."

"Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"

"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, and then snatched up the teeth. "I shall do this myself."

He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth - ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."

He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. Rise!

The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.

The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"

"Yesssss, lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.

"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"

As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as I watched, turning into men, but men with dull gray skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes - gray muscle shirts, camo pants, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images.

One of them looked straight at me, regarding me coldly, and I knew that no cap of invisibility would fool it.

The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoe and the others until they were extinct.

I didn't have time to think. I activated my bow and shot the piece of cloth with a flaming arrow which burnt the cloth to a crisp "What's this?" bellowed the General.

I deactivated my bow and ran up to a skeleton with my dagger, who hissed.

"An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!" Well, that sounds like my queue to leave

"It's Percy Jackson!" Luke yelled. "It has to be." Uhg, why does Percy get all the credit

I sprinted for the exit, but heard a ripping sound and realized the skeleton warrior had taken a chunk out of my sleeve. When I glanced back, he was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, handing it around to his friends. I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I squeezed through the door just as the guards slammed it shut behind me.

And then I ran.

**Alright, that's it for chapter 6 just in case you're wondering these chapters are about as long as they are in the book. -Luke**


	7. Chapter 7 AN sorry

** Author's Note**

**Hey, sorry guys but I'm putting this story on hiatus, because I can't seem to come up with many original parts for the story so while I think I will continue to try to update my other fanfic Take a Stand and might start a new one. Thanks for your understanding and sorry if you like this story and didn't want me to stop it. –Luke**


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